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MINNEAPOLIS, Oct 12- One of the nearly 14,000 patients given potentially tainted injections of pain medicine has sued the maker of the treatment in what may be the first of a wave of lawsuits over a deadly U.S. meningitis outbreak that shows no signs of abating.

J. Todd Weber of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said as the death toll reached 14.. The other case is an ankle infection discovered in Michigan; steroid shots also can be given to treat aching knees, shoulders or other joints.

Oct 12- Cleaning services company Ecolab Inc. St. Paul, Minnesota- based Ecolab will pay about $1.7 billion in cash and issue about 8 million shares to Champion, subject to certain adjustments at and after closing. Houston- based Champion, whose competitors include Schlumberger NV, Halliburton Co and Baker Hughes Inc, had sales of $1.2 billion last year, Ecolab said.

Oct 12- Cleaning services company Ecolab Inc. Ecolab's shares closed at $63.67 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. Houston- based Champion, which competes with companies such as Schlumberger NV, Halliburton Co and Baker Hughes Inc, had sales of $1.2 billion last year, Ecolab said.

ST. PAUL, Minn.-- Ecolab, the cleaning, food safety and pest-control services company, is buying the specialty chemical company Champion Technologies in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $2.2 billion.

*Minnesota woman sues pharmacy in federal court. WASHINGTON/ BOSTON, Oct 11- The pharmacy at the center of a deadly U.S. meningitis outbreak possibly linked to tainted steroid injections faced mounting federal and state scrutiny on Thursday, including a potential criminal investigation, as the national death toll climbed to 14..

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct 11- A Minnesota woman who says she received injections of the steroid at the center of a deadly outbreak of fungal meningitis in the United States on Thursday sued the company that made the suspect medication.

WASHINGTON, Oct 11- The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits slid last week to the lowest level in more than four and a half years, according to government data that may provide a boost to President Barack Obama a month before voters go to the polls.

By David Morgan and Tim McLaughlin. WASHINGTON/ BOSTON Oct 11- The pharmacy at the center of a deadly U.S. meningitis outbreak possibly linked to tainted steroid injections faced mounting federal and state scrutiny on Thursday, including a potential criminal probe, as the national death toll climbed to 14..

WASHINGTON, Oct 11- As many as 14,000 people- more than previously thought- received possibly tainted steroid injections tied to a deadly U.S. meningitis outbreak and patients should watch for symptoms for several months, health officials said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON, Oct 11- The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits slid last week to the lowest level in more than four and a half years, according to government data that may provide a boost to President Barack Obama a month before voters go to the polls.

WASHINGTON, Oct 11- The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits slid last week to the lowest level in more than four and a half years, according to government data that may provide a boost to President Barack Obama a month before voters go to the polls.

WASHINGTON, Oct 11- U.S. health authorities said on Thursday that more people than previously thought received possibly tainted steroid injections and that some 14,000 patients could be at risk of contracting meningitis in an unprecedented outbreak of the disease.

MINNEAPOLIS-- Despite the drought that parched much of the rest of the country, 2012 is shaping up as a pleasant surprise for many Minnesota farmers who are expected to harvest record corn and sugarbeet crops. "It went better than we thought it would _ by a long ways _ that's for sure," southwestern Minnesota corn and soybean farmer Scott Johnson said with a laugh.

HARTFORD, Conn.-- Outrage over unauthorized pay raises for Connecticut education staff members deepened Thursday with the state House Republican leader calling for the Board of Regents president to step down and the Democratic governor saying credibility must be restored "as quickly as possible."

WAYZATA, Minn.-- Agribusiness company Cargill said on Thursday that its first-quarter profit nearly quadrupled to $975 million. Still, the Minneapolis company said the impact of the U.S. drought and weather in other crop-growing areas such as the Black Sea region "is still unfolding." Revenue fell 2 percent to $33.8 billion from $34.6 billion a year ago.

AVONDALE, Penn., Oct 11- The Federal Reserve's intention to keep interest rates ultra low for nearly three more years is suggesting to some that the Fed is willing to cut the jobless rate at the expense of higher inflation, putting the central bank's credibility at risk, a top Fed official said on Thursday.